ELON, N.C. – After nearly a month from its last home game, the Elon University men's basketball team returns to Schar Center on Wednesday night, Jan. 4, as the Phoenix plays host to UNCW in its Colonial Athletic Association home opener. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Wednesday's game will be streamed live on FloHoops via a paid subscription.
• Listen to the game on the Elon Sports Network from Learfield on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men's basketball schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMBasketball.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and UNCW will meet for the 29^th time in their histories with both teams deadlocked at 14-14 in the all-time series that dates to 1974.
• Both teams have split the past four contests, but Elon has won four out of the past six meetings. UNCW posted a 75-58 victory over the Phoenix in the most recent contest in the opening round of the CAA Tournament last season.
• The last Elon win came in a 78-65 victory over the Seahawks at Schar Center on Feb. 3, 2022. The win snapped UNCW's program-record 12-game winning streak while keeping the Phoenix undefeated at Schar Center against its intrastate league foe with a 3-0 ledger.
• Since becoming league opponents during the 2014-15 season, the Seahawks hold a slight 9-8 advantage over the maroon and gold during the regular season and are 2-0 in the CAA Tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon closed out its five-game road trip at Delaware last Saturday, Dec. 31. Despite making it a one-possession game in the final seconds at the defending CAA Tournament champion, the Phoenix could not find the go-ahead basket and fell in a 57-52 setback.
• Zac Ervin scored a game-high 18 points for Elon shooting 6-of-12 from the field while going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Sean Halloran was the other player in double figures for Elon with 16 points.
• Halloran tied Sam Sherry for the team-lead in rebounds with eight, setting a new career-high for the Orlando, Fla., native. He also had three steals to his stat line, his eighth game with three or more thefts this season.
• Sherry tied his career-high with a pair of blocks in the game. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native had eight points in the game for the Phoenix.
• The win was the seventh straight for the Blue Hens over the Phoenix and the 10th out of the past 11 meetings.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon will be playing its first game on its home floor at Schar Center since hosting Johnson & Wales (N.C.) on Dec. 11. The Phoenix then embarked on a five-game road trip, the program's longest since enduring a four-game stretch in December of 2017.
• Halloran leads the Phoenix in scoring at 13.3 points per game while his 67 total assists rank second in the CAA. His 4.5 assist average is the highest for the program since Luke Eddy also averaged 4.5 assists per game during the 2015-16 season and would be the second-best single-season average at the program's Division I level behind Chris Long's 6.1 APG average in 2010-11.
• Halloran is second in the CAA in total steals (36) and steals per game (2.4). That average would be the best single-season performance in school history at the Division I era, besting Scottie Rice's 2.0 SPG average in 2002-03. The graduate student has 17 steals in his past five games and is currently ninth in the country in total steals.
• Halloran has also been close to automatic at the charity stripe this season with his 92.7 free throw percentage (38-of-41). That percentage leads the CAA and is seventh overall in the country.
• Ervin's 18 points at Delaware was one point off his season-high while raising his scoring average to 10.8 points per game, second-best on the team. The Gate City, Va., native leads the Phoenix with 35 makes from three while shooting 34 percent from downtown.
• Max Mackinnon is third on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game while leading the Phoenix on the boards with 4.9 rebounds per game. The Brisbane, Australia, native has scored 18-plus points in four of his past eight outings and is second to Halloran in assists (30) and steals (18).
• The Phoenix welcomed back Jerald Gillens-Butler in his first games of the season this past weekend at Drexel and Delaware. The Orlando, Fla., native and a preseason All-CAA honorable mention a year ago, played 18 minutes at Delaware, grabbing three rebounds with a steal.
• Elon also welcomed Torrence Watson to its lineup against the Blue Hens after the St. Louis native missed the previous three games due to injury. He played 11 minutes overall.
• After losing 73 percent of its scoring from last year's team, 55 percent of Elon's points scored this year has come from members who did not appear in a game for the Phoenix last season (549 of 998).
 
SCOUTING UNCW
• The Seahawks (12-3, 2-0 CAA) carry another lengthy winning streak into Elon as UNCW has reeled off 11 victories straight since falling at No. 25 UConn on Nov. 18. That streak is now tied for the third-longest in the nation.
• UNCW opened CAA play last weekend with wins over CAA newcomers Monmouth and Hampton. The Seahawks defeated the Hawks 68-55 in New Jersey before wrapping up the weekend with an 82-65 result over the Pirates back in Wilmington.
• The Seahawks are scoring the ball at 71.5 points per game while holding opponents to 62.8 points per contest. Individually, sophomore forward Trazarien White is the only double-digit scorer for UNCW at his team-best 13.9 points per game. The Mansfield, Texas, native is connecting on 50.3 percent from the field and leads the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
• Three other players are averaging between 9.8 and 7.8 points per game for the Seahawks. Senior Shykeim Phillips is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.8 points per game. Prior to going scoreless in his last game against Hampton, the Winterville, N.C., native was averaging 14 points in his previous three games.
• Takayo Siddle is in his third season as the head coach of the UNCW program. Siddle led the Seahawks to a 27-9 record last season and the College Basketball Invitational championship.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Season tickets are now on sale for $170 for men's basketball.
• Single-game tickets are now on sale! Single-game tickets begin at $15 for men's basketball.
• Fans are able to purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $75. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men's or women's basketball regular season home game. Use all 10 for any one game, or use one voucher for 10 different games. Fans will also receive an Elon mini autographed basketball from the head coaches. These tickets represent a 50 percent savings for men's basketball tickets and a 25 percent savings for women's basketball vs. single-game prices.
• Ticket vouchers must be redeemed for a reserved seat ticket prior to entry. This can be done at the Schar Center Box Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
LAUNCHING THE BILLY TAYLOR ERA
• Billy Taylor was named the 19^th head coach of the Phoenix on April 15, 2022. Taylor arrived to the Phoenix after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa.
• Prior to working with the Hawkeyes, Taylor spent five years as head coach at Lehigh University followed by six seasons as the head coach at Ball State University and three at Belmont Abbey College.
• In his time at Iowa, the Hawkeyes ranked as one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking fifth nationally in scoring average in both 2021 (83.7) and 2022 (83.2). The program also led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio in both seasons.
• Taylor was a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year (2003, 2004) and led Lehigh to both the regular season and tournament titles in 2004, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament that season. He also guided Ball State to the 2009 MAC West Division crown.
 
OPENING TIP
• Elon welcomes back seven letterwinners from last year's team including five upperclassmen. Among the notable returners for the maroon and gold includes graduate student Torrence Watson and senior Zac Ervin. Both players are the leading returning scorers for Elon at 9.2 and 7.1 points per game, respectively.
• The Phoenix also welcomes back redshirt Jerald Gillens-Butler, who hopes to return to form after being named an All-Colonial Athletic Association honorable mention prior to last year. The Orlando, Fla., native appeared in only 10 games last year after missing most of the prior season due to an injury.
• A pair of graduate transfers will look to make an immediate impact for the Phoenix this season. Sean Halloran arrives to the Phoenix after an outstanding four-year career at Belmont Abbey. The Orlando, Fla., native finished as the all-time career assist leader with the Crusaders while helping the program to back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships and three straight NCAA tournament appearances. He rounded out his career averaging 14.4 points per game as a senior and concluded his career with 1,422 points.
• Another graduate transfer, John Bowen III, brings size to the Phoenix front line at 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds. The Bladenboro, N.C., native last played at UNCW in 2019-20 and appeared in 28 out of 32 games. Prior to UNCW, Bowen III was a teammate of Halloran's at Belmont Abbey and averaged 8.9 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per contest in 2018-19 while starting 27 of 28 games.
• A pair of freshmen will also look to make an impact for the maroon and gold in 2022-23. Max Mackinnon is a 6-foot-5 swingman from Brisbane, Australia, where he won back-to-back gold medals with the U20 Australian National Team. He was also named an All-Star 5 at the Australian National Championship.
• Another freshman, LA Pratt, is a 6-foot-5 guard from Columbus, Ohio, who was a three-time All-4A Team member and three-time conference champion at Lincoln Park High School. He scored over 1,000 points in high school and helped guide the program to two WPIAL Championship appearances and two State Semifinal appearances.
 
UP NEXT
Elon will be idle for a week before returning to the court to host Piedmont Triad rival and CAA newcomer North Carolina A&T next Wednesday, Jan. 11. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Schar Center.